Author: tomz

Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s former deputy director, Andrew McCabe — a favorite target for President Donald Trump and Republicans — on Friday night, two days before he was to retire.

Sessions made the politically explosive decision after the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility recommended that McCabe be dismissed for not being forthcoming about authorizing discussions with a reporter about a pending investigation.

“Pursuant to Department Order 1202, and based on the report of the Inspector General, the findings of the FBI Office of Professional Responsibility, and the recommendation of the Department’s senior career official, I have terminated the employment of Andrew McCabe effective immediately,” Sessions said in a statement.

Sessions also said: “The FBI expects every employee to adhere to the highest standards of honesty, integrity, and accountability.”

McCabe, a 22-year veteran of the bureau, already had stepped down from the No. 2 position and went on leave in January. He planned to retire officially this Sunday, when he turns 50 and would become eligible for his government pension. So the question was whether Sessions would fire him before he retired.

Sessions averted what probably would have been an intense backlash from Trump, who has used his Twitter account to criticize Sessions as well as McCabe. In December, Trump said in a tweet: “FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is racing the clock to retire with full benefits. 90 days to go?!!!”

Pension Question

McCabe’s firing may put his pension in jeopardy, either reducing or eliminating it.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s professional responsibility office found that McCabe misled Justice Department officials about his role in letting bureau officials talk to a reporter about the FBI’s investigation into the Clinton Foundation in October 2016, according to a person familiar with the matter.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders attacked McCabe on Thursday, a day when he was meeting with Justice Department officials to appeal his case.

‘Bad Actor’

“We do think it is well-documented that he has had some very troubling behavior and by most accounts a bad actor and should have some cause for concern,” Sanders said in a briefing for reporters.

Trump and Republicans railed against McCabe for his role in the FBI’s decision against charging Democrat Hillary Clinton for mishandling classified information in her use of private email when she was secretary of State.

They also questioned McCabe’s involvement in the FBI’s continuing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and whether anyone around Trump helped in the meddling. The probe is now being run by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

McCabe became a Republican target partly because he helped oversee the Clinton email investigation in 2016 even though his wife had accepted donations from Democratic political organizations for an unsuccessful campaign for the Virginia state Senate the previous year.

McCabe joined the FBI in 1996 and held management positions in the counterterrorism division and the Washington field office. He became the FBI’s acting director after Trump fired James Comey in May, serving in that role until Aug. 2 when Christopher Wray took charge.

The Justice Department’s inspector general also has investigated decisions made in the department and FBI before the 2016 election, including events and actions involving McCabe, and plans to release its findings in the coming weeks.

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Friday, February 9, 2018

Akron, OH: Tom Zawistowski, President of the Ohio Citizens PAC, called out members of the Ohio Republican State Central Committee today for their vote to endorse in the upcoming primary elections instead of letting Republican voters decide, with their primary vote, who should be their Party’s representative in the November general elections. The ORP State Central Committee voted to endorse in both the Governor’s race and in the US Senate primary race as well as endorse every Republican who is an incumbent – including themselves as incumbent members of the State Central Committee. Zawistowski claimed that the vote Friday was an attempt to rig the primary election for the party establishment and was a step backward from protecting the right of all citizens to vote in fair and open elections.

Zawistowski said, “Is it not the responsibility of political parties to assure fair and open elections? Is it not a sacred constitutional right, and the very bedrock of our political system, that We the People have a legitimate vote in all elections? A right to vote for the fellow citizens who we best think will represent our interests and values in local, state and federal office? Yet today’s Ohio Republican State Central Committee vote, and the appalling actions of Democrats to make sure that Bernie Sanders had no chance of winning in the 2016 primary, delegitimizes our vote. Today’s action demonstrates how both major political parties are intent upon making sure that voters have no one to vote for except the candidates the party establishments chose. The fact is that both political parties do not believe in our form of government, they do not believe in fair elections that are open to all comers. They only believe in protecting their own power and using it against citizens and for their own benefit, which is why they rig election against anyone who challenges them. That is why abused Republicans and abused Democrats alike voted for Donald Trump who threatens the power of both political parties. It is because of actions like those taken today by the ORP that over 85% of people in a poll we recently conducted said they wish that Trump would leave the Republican Party and form a new political party.”

Zawistowski concluded, “Let us be clear, just like the Democrats, these endorsements today by the ORP provide an unfair advantage for those they endorsed. Only those endorsed by the Party can use the Republican Party’s electoral assets for their campaigns, saving those candidates collectively millions of dollars. Plus, it will keep donors who do not want to be targeted by the Party from giving to opposing candidates. When average citizens wonder “why can’t we fix government” the answer is that both political parties have “fixed” the election process so that those in power stay in power whether you like them or not. Their simply is nothing fair about it. As Donald Trump said, and we have now proven, the system is “rigged” against the people. All we can suggest is that citizens come out in droves the the primary and vote for anyone but the incumbent and those endorsed by their political party – including those on the state central committee who voted to endorse. The goal of the Ohio Citizens PAC will be to make sure that voters know who the incumbents are and who the challengers are in every primary race this year.”

Borges and Luketic are pressuring State Central Committee Members to vote to Endorse Candidates at Friday’s ORP Meeting and plot to remove Jane Timken as Chairwoman.

Fellow Patriots,

The word we are getting is that deposed former ORP Chairman Matt Borges and his “partner in crime” Dave Luketic, current Campaign Director for the Mike DeWine/Jon Husted for Governor ticket, have been calling State Central Committee members and “urging” them to vote to endorse DeWine for Governor in Friday’s State Central Committee meeting. That is their right to do, just as we are asking you to call and ask Central Committee members to vote not to endorse. What is not “Ok” is the return to the “Mafia Tactics” that Borges and Luketic are infamous for employing, to intimidate, bully and literally force people to vote against their conscience – and in this case against the best interest of Republican voters. Borges and Luketic and their surrogates are “threatening” ORP State Central Committee members who do not agree to vote to endorse DeWine with primary challengers, or worse, in the May 8th Primary. We are also being told that Borges has already recruited candidates to primary Jane Timken supporters on the committee in an effort to remove Timken as Chairwoman and take back control of the Ohio Republican Party for the Kasich/DeWine establishment. The implication is that if Central Committee members do not vote to endorse DeWine, there will be retribution once they remove Timken as Chairwoman.

We supported Jane Timken for Chairwoman because she supported Donald Trump, she embraced the National Republican Party Platform as the Ohio Republican Party Platform, and she made it clear that she believed in fair and open primaries in which the voters decide who wins without the ORP endorsing and picking winners and losers. We think she has done a terrific job based on feedback from State Central Committee members who for the first time actually enjoy being on the ORP Central Committee and feel respected as the representatives of Republican Voters in their Districts. As a result, for the first time ever, the TEA Party Movement made no effort this year to “target” any State Central Committee members, and I will go as far as to say that we will use our considerable resources to defend those State Central Committee members in the primary who are being “targeted” by Borges and Luketic. Friday’s vote will decide who on the committee stands with Jane Timken, and the principled path she has the Ohio Republican Party following, and those who wish to return to the darkness of political corruption, rigged elections, pay-to-play, and total disrespect for the the rights of voters and our electoral system which exemplifies Borges and Luketic’s stock-in-trade.

All that being said, I URGE ALL PATRIOTS TO TAKE TIME TODAY OR THURSDAY, to call or email their State Central Committee men and women and tell them two things. First, ask them to support Jane Timken’s leadership and vote not to endorse anyone in the Republican Primary, let Republican voters decide who they want for their candidates in the General Election. Second, tell them not to be intimidated by Borges and Luketic, and assure them that we will help them defend their seat if they stand with Jane Timken and against a return to the past corruption of the ORP.

Below you will find a complete list of Ohio Republican State Central Committee Members, sorted by Senate District. If you don’t know what Senate District you are in, I have attached a map of Ohio with the Senate District indicated. Please send them an email or call them today or Thursday. Thank you!

For Liberty,

Tom ZawistowskiPresidentOhio Citizens PAC

WE NEED TO ACT BEFORE THE FEBRUARY 9th STATE CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEETING!

Fellow Patriots,

Last year when we backed Jane Timken in her run to become Ohio Republican Party State Chairwoman, one of the many reasons was because she made it clear that she did not believe that the Republican Party should endorse candidates in the primaries, as had been the practice in the past. She felt strongly that Republican primary voters should decide who will represent them in the General Election. To her credit, she has keep true to that promise and has not put her finger on the scale at any time during this election season, though she has been asked to do so many times. Furthermore, in October of last year, she made a proposal to hold debates for the governor candidates, again something that has not happened in a long time. We strongly support Chairwoman Timken in her commitment to respect Republican voters and allow for fair, open and transparent elections so that we can vote to have the very best candidates possible representing our views and values. We don’t want the Establishment picking our candidates for us!

Now, that being said, all of us need to understand a few important realities. First, the bylaws of the ORP State Central Committee do not allow for the Chairwoman to just declare that there be no endorsements in contested primaries. Chairwoman Timken has acted at all times, over the past year, as a true leader should by not dictating anything to anyone, and by following the Bylaws to the “T”. The Bylaws require that a sub-committee first make a recommendation to endorse or not endorse anyone, then the entire State Central Committee has to vote on that recommendation. So your committee members are going to decide it they will endorse or not in the primary even though the Chairwoman’s preference is that they do not. Don’t get me wrong, many members have a lot of respect for Chairwoman Timken and will support her views, but they don’t have to do that.

Second, remember that Jane Timken was elected Chairwoman by the slimmest of margins last year – 33 to 32 with one person not in attendance. Many of those who did not vote for her are tied to John Kasich and Rob Portman and the Republican Establishment. That Establishment is going to want to have their favored candidates endorsed on February 9th and they will be working the State Central Committee members to do just that. Not just in the Governor’s race, but also in the Senate Race and perhaps even in some House Races. If we want to protect OUR right to fair, open and transparent elections, YOU are going to have to call or write to your State Central Committee Representative and urge them NOT TO ENDORSE in the Primary.

Below you will find a complete list of Ohio Republican State Central Committee Members, sorted by Senate District. If you don’t know what Senate District you are in, I have attached a map of the Ohio with the Senate District indicated. You will have two Representatives, one male and one female, that you can contact. Please take the time to contact them BEFORE THE FEBRUARY 9TH MEETING. We are fortunate to have Chairwoman Timken stepping in to bring much needed reforms to the Ohio Republican Party and she deserves our support for helping to create an environment that benefits us as voters. Please do your part by writing or calling your Representative as soon as possible. Thank you!

For Liberty,

Tom Zawistowski
President
Ohio Citizens PAC

Please consider Donating, by clicking the button below, to the Ohio Citizens PAC which we must use to support any candidates we want to help in Ohio

Patriot TAKE ACTION FRIDAY!

Tell President Trump we DEMAND Action!

Jeff Sessions needs to FIRE everyone involved at the DOJ and FBI on Friday.
Then announce that a criminal investigation begins IMMEDIATELY!If the Republican’s had illegally interfered in the 2008 Election and Illegally Spied on the Obama Campaign, the Left would have burned the FBI and DOJ to the ground!

My Fellow Patriots – NOW is the Time to Act and Raise Holy HELL until we get Justice!

Demand that they Release the Memo to the Public NOW!#ReleasetheMemoThis is the biggest scandal in American History with the opposition political party using the force of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to try and change the outcome of a Presidential Election. Failing that they then attempted to force a duly elected President out of office with false accusations, provided by Russian Agents and paid for by the losing candidate, to invalidate the votes of 62 Million Americans!

Congress Demands ‘Explosive’ FISA Info Be Made Public

THE CLASSIFIED MATERIAL IMPLICATES THE OBAMA DOJ AND COMEY FBI AND DESTROYS THE ENTIRE BASIS OF THE MUELLER INVESTIGATION.

Congressmen joined forced Thursday night to demand that classified information they viewed is made public due to that fact that it PROVES the FISA court was fed bogus information, relying ONLY on the totally discredited Fusion GPS dodgy “Pissgate” dossier.

This demolish’s the entire basis of the Mueller investigation, which now stands exposed for being based on illegitimate wiretaps.

Washington, D.C. — Congressman Matt Gaetz (FL-01) today released the following statement after reviewing information from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, including a memo held in the Congressional Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) that contained previously-undisclosed information involving the Federal Bureau of Intelligence (FBI) and Department of Justice (DOJ). (more information on link)

Congressmen Gaetz has been joined in his call by Congressmen Ron DeSantis:

While the report is classified as Top Secret, I believe the select committee should, pursuant to House rules, vote to make the report publicly available as soon as possible. This is a matter of national significance and the American people deserve the truth.

.@mattgaetz: “The allegations contained in this important intelligence document go to the very foundations of our democracy and they require an immediate release to the public in my opinion.” pic.twitter.com/kqjxp21GcA

These are MAJOR and SEISMIC developments that are finally going explode all of this information about Hillary Clinton, Obama, and their “insurance policy”- manipulating the entire situation with obtaining the original FISA warrants. Without that deception there could be no Muller investigation. Now this is to be blown WIDE OPEN to the public!

It is inevitable that Trump will agree to these requests so hold onto something.

There is strong circumstantial evidence that an insidious plot unprecedented in American history was hatched within the FBI and the Obama Justice Department to help elect Hillary Clinton and defeat Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.

And when this apparent effort to improperly influence the election did not succeed, the suspected conspirators appear to have employed a fraudulent investigation of President Trump in an attempt to undo the election results and remove him as president.

Such a Machiavellian scheme would move well beyond what is known as the “deep state,” a popular reference to government employees who organize in secret to impose their own political views on government policy in defiance of democratically elected leadership.

However, this apparent plot to keep Trump from becoming president and to weaken and potentially pave the way for his impeachment with a prolonged politically motivated investigation – if proven – would constitute something far more nefarious and dangerous.

Such a plot would show that partisans within the FBI and the Justice Department, driven by personal animus and a sense of political righteousness, surreptitiously conspired to subvert electoral democracy itself in our country.

As of now, we have no proof beyond a reasonable doubt of such a plot. But we have very strong circumstantial evidence.

And as the philosopher and writer Henry David Thoreau wrote in his journal in 1850: “Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk.”

Newly revealed text messages about the apparent anti-Trump plot are the equivalent of a trout in the milk. It smells fishy.

The Plans

The mainstream media and Democrats dismiss talk of an anti-Trump conspiracy by the FBI and Justice Department as right-wing nonsense – paranoid fantasies of Trump supporters with no basis in facts. But there are plenty of facts that lay out a damning case based on circumstantial evidence.

Recently disclosed text messages between FBI Special Agent Peter Strzok and FBI lawyer Lisa Page suggest there may have been two parts of the apparent anti-Trump plot.

“Part A” was to devise a way to exonerate Clinton, despite compelling evidence that she committed crimes under the Espionage Act in her mishandling of classified documents on her private email server.

Absolving Clinton cleared the way for her to continue her candidacy at a time when all polls and just about every pundit predicted she would be elected president in November 2016. If Clinton had been charged with crimes she would likely have been forced to drop her candidacy, and if she remained in the race her candidacy would have been doomed.

But “Part A” of the apparent anti-Trump plot was not enough. A back-up plan would be prudent. It seems the Obama Justice Department and FBI conjured up a “Part B” just in case the first stratagem failed. This would be even more malevolent – manufacturing an alleged crime supposedly committed by Trump where no crime exists in the law.

And so, armed with a fictitious justification, a criminal investigation was launched into so-called Trump-Russia “collusion.” It was always a mythical legal claim, since there is no statute prohibiting foreign nationals from volunteering their services in American political campaigns.

More importantly, there was never a scintilla of evidence that Trump collaborated with Russia to influence the election.

No matter. The intent may have been to sully the new president while searching for a crime to force him from office.

But thanks to the discovery of text messages, circumstantial evidence has been exposed.

The Texts

The text messages exchanged between Strzok and Page, who were romantically involved, confirm a stunning hostility toward Trump, calling him an “idiot” and “loathsome.”

At the same time, the texts were filled with adoring compliments of Clinton, lauding her nomination and stating: “She just has to win now.”

One text between Strzok and Page dated Aug. 6, 2016 stands out and looks like the proverbial smoking gun.

Page: “And maybe you’re meant to stay where you are because you’re meant to protect the country from that menace.” (This is clearly a reference to a Trump presidency).

Strzok: “Thanks. And of course I’ll try and approach it that way. I can protect our country at many levels .…”

It is reasonable to conclude that Strzok had already taken steps to “protect” the country from what he considered would be a dangerous and harmful Trump presidency.

Just one month earlier, then-FBI Director James Comey had announced he would recommend that no criminal charges be filed by the Justice Department against Clinton. Given all the incriminating evidence against Clinton, Comey’s view that she should not be prosecuted made no sense by any objective standard.

This is where Strzok played a pivotal role. As the lead investigator in the Clinton email case, he is the person who changed the critical wording in Comey’s description of Clinton’s handling of classified material, substituting “extremely careless” for “gross negligence.”

As I explained in an earlier column, this alteration of two words had enormous consequences, because it allowed Clinton to evade prosecution. This removed the only legal impediment to her election as president.

Documents made available by the Senate Homeland Security Committee also show that Comey intended to declare that the sheer volume of classified material on Clinton’s server supported the “inference” that she was grossly negligent, which would constitute criminal conduct. Yet this also was edited out, likely by Strzok, to avoid finding evidence of crimes.

This seems to be what Page and Strzok meant when they discussed his role as protector of the republic. It appears that Strzok was instrumental in clearing Clinton by rewriting Comey’s otherwise incriminating findings.

Were Page and Strzok also referring to the investigation of Trump that was begun in July 2016, right after Clinton was absolved? After all, Strzok was the agent who reportedly signed the documents launching the bureau’s Trump-Russia probe. And he was a lead investigator in the case before jumping to Robert Mueller’s special counsel team.

If there is any doubt that Strzok and Page sought to undermine the democratic process, consider this cryptic text about their “insurance policy” against the “risk” of a Trump presidency.

Strzok: “I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office – that there’s no way he gets elected – but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk. It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40.…”

The reference to “Andy” is likely Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, who was also supervising the investigation of Clinton’s emails at the same time his wife was receiving roughly $675,000 in campaign money in her race for elective office in Virginia from groups aligned with Clinton.

What was the “insurance policy” discussed in Andy’s office? Was it the FBI’s investigation of Trump and his associates? Or was it the anti-Trump “dossier” that may have been used by the FBI and the Justice Department as the basis for a warrant to wiretap and spy on Trump associates? Perhaps it was both.

The Dossier

The “dossier” was a compendium of largely specious allegations about Trump, compiled by the opposition research firm Fusion GPS. The dossier was funded by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Comey called it “salacious and unverified.”

Various congressional committees suspect the dossier was illegally used to place a Trump campaign associate, Carter Page, under foreign surveillance. When asked about that on Wednesday during a hearing on Capitol Hill, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein refused to answer, which sounds like an implicit “yes.”

Using a dubious, if not phony, document in support of an affidavit to obtain a warrant from a federal judge constitutes a fraud upon the court, which is a crime.

The dossier scandal recently ensnared Bruce Ohr, a top Justice Department official, who was demoted last week for concealing his meetings with the men behind the document.

Ohr’s wife worked for Fusion GPS. This created a disqualifying conflict of interest for Mr. Ohr. He was legally obligated under Justice Department regulations to recuse himself from the Mueller investigation of Russia’s role in the election, but he did not.

Congress needs to find out whether the dossier was exploited as a pretext for initiating the Russia probe against President Trump. It would also be unconscionable, if not illegal, for the FBI and Justice Department to use opposition research funded by Clinton’s campaign to spy on her opponent or his campaign.

Both agencies have been resisting congressional subpoenas and other demands for answers, which smacks of a cover-up. Since the Justice Department cannot be trusted to investigate itself, a second special counsel should be appointed.

This new counsel should also reopen the Clinton email case and investigate the conduct of Strzok, Page, Comey and others who may have obstructed justice by exonerating Clinton in the face of substantial evidence that she had committed crimes.

If Strzok or anyone else allowed their political views to shape the investigations of either Clinton or Trump and dictate the outcomes, that is a felony for which they should be prosecuted.

The Mueller investigation is now so tainted with the appearance of corruption that it has lost credibility and the public’s trust.

Let’s Learn from the Left’s Tactics and Use them to Give Support to those who Support US!

It is a FACT that the MAIN reason the Communist/Socialist Left, which is a small minority in America, has been so successful in pushing it’s policies and taking over so many of our institutions, is because they figured out long ago how to get make us pay to fund their attacks upon us! Through forced union dues that go exclusively to Democrats and the Left, to federal and state “grants” to Planned Parenthood, MoveOn.org, Acorn etc, to the Obama Justice Department directing hundreds of millions of dollars in fines from Banks and Wall Street firms to be given ONLY to leftist groups, instead of being paid to reduce our federal debt, WE are forced to fund our own enemies and their efforts to destroy our Constitutional Republic!!! While the Trump Administration has ended the Obama practice of “redirecting” fines to leftist groups, little else has changed and we are still funding our enemies while having few resources to fund our conservative movement.

With one exception!

Ohio has a law that says that any citizen can donate up to $50 per person, or $100 per couple, to any state elected official or person running for state office and get a dollar-for-dollar TAX CREDIT off your state income taxes! Now, I ask you, would you rather have your hard earned $50 or $100 forcibly take from you through taxation by Democrat Governor John Kasich to throw away on Medicare Expansion, or would you rather deny him some of your money and instead give it to one of the few real conservatives in our state who is fighting to pass legislation that supports our conservative values??? Easy answer isn’t it! It’s a “no-brainer”, you have to pay it anyway in your taxes if you don’t do this, so why not donate it instead to help our cause?

This Christmas I ask you to give to one or more of the people below, or any other state candidate you like, to help them get re-elected, or to win office again, so that they can help support our causes. (Just remember you can only take your Tax Credit up to a TOTAL of $50/$100 on your state taxes – not $50/$100 for each candidate.) I can tell you for a fact that they really appreciate your support. Plus, I think that we need to thank them for fighting so hard for things like freezing Medicare Expansion, attempting to pass the Pastor’s Protection Act and the Heartbeat bill, and protecting our 1st and 2nd Amendment Rights – because they are always in the minority and the establishment is always attacking them for trying to pass conservative legislation that We the People want our government to implement!

Just pick the person(s) you want to support, click on their picture, and make a donation. Then give the receipt to your accountant at tax time so it can be deducted from your state income tax as a Tax Credit.

YOU MUST MAKE YOUR DONATION BY DECEMBER 31, 2017 IN ORDER TO TAKE THE TAX CREDIT ON YOUR 2017 TAXES!

Akron, OH – Tom Zawistowski, President of the Ohio Citizens PAC, today offered his congratulations to the 66 men and women representatives elected to the Ohio Republican Party State Central Committee, and ORP Chairwoman Jane Timken, for their votes today to protect the primary election process. At the state meeting held today in Columbus, OH the committee debated if they should endorse Republican candidates two months before the filing deadline of February 7, 2018 and decided not to do so. Zawistowski also offered his appreciation to Republican Governor Candidates Jim Renacci and Mary Taylor, both of whom announced yesterday that they would stay in the race for Ohio Governor despite the major announcement that Mike DeWine and Jon Husted were joining forces to run on the same ticket.

Zawistowski said, “Yesterday we implored member of the Republican State Central Committee to do the right thing and not endorse anyone at their meeting today. In our opinion doing so would have sent a message to voters that the party was picking winners and losers and rigging the election for select candidates. To their credit, and thanks to the skillful leadership of ORP Chairwoman Jane Timken, the members of the state central committee debated the issue and agreed that endorsing now would send the wrong message to voters and decided not to endorse. That was the right thing to do and is a good sign that at least the Republican Party is learning from past mistakes and listening to the voters who want an open and honest elections process, including in the primaries. The citizens of Ohio thank them for their responsible actions today.”

Zawistowski concluded by saying, “We also want to thank Jim Renacci and Mary Taylor for listening to our encouragement yesterday and deciding to stay in the Ohio Governor’s race, giving voters a choice in the primary in addition to the DeWine/Husted ticket. That is the way it should be. We look forward to watching the race as it unfolds over the months ahead to see who will win the support of the people. We sincerely hope that the Democrat candidates for Ohio Governor will do the same after the expected announcement next week that Richard Cordray will enter the Democratic Primary race.”

PRESS RELEASE

Akron, OH – Tom Zawistowski, President of the Ohio Citizens PAC, expressed his concern with the expected announcement today that Republican’s Mike DeWine and Jon Husted will form a single ticket with DeWine being the Governor candidate and Husted being the Lieutenant Governor candidate. Zawistowski said, “While we understand that this type of move makes sense from an economic and political stand point, and that it has a lot to do with the expected announcement next week that Richard Cordray will finally announce that he is running for Governor on the Democratic side, however, doing so shows contempt for the primary process and confirms all that voters feel is wrong with our political system. The system in both political parties is clearly rigged. The ruling/donor class decides who gets on the ballot and who does not and the voters are basically told that they can “vote for anyone you want” as long as it is one of the candidates the ruling class “allows” to be on the ballot. That is no choice at all, and that is not representative government. This is another attempt to rig the election and shows that both parties simply have learned nothing from the outrage citizens felt by the way Bernie Sanders was cheated in 2016 and how the ruling/donor class has continued it’s attempts to destroy Donald Trump and invalidate the votes of 62 million Americans. This is a very disappointing move by both candidates.”

Zawistowski continued, “We are urging Jim Renacci and Mary Taylor to stay in the Republican governors race so as not to allow the establishment once again to decide who the candidate for Governor will be without regular citizens having any say in the matter. The same goes for the Democratic side. While Judge O’Neill has already said he will drop out of the Democratic race if Cordray runs, there are concerns that the other candidates will also drop out. Doing so would leave voters with no choices at the polls in the May 2018 primary. We urge the other Democratic candidates to stay in the race.”

Zawistowski concluded, “Both parties have already deployed this scorched earth policy in the down ticket races with only one candidate officially on the ballot for each party in the Attorney General, Secretary of State, Auditor and Treasurer races. Fortunately, it looks like Sandy O’Brien is going to step up and challenge in the Republican Primary for Treasurer and we have been working to recruit additional candidates to compete for the other state offices on the Republican side. However, now we are hearing that this Friday, the Ohio Republican State Central Committee is planning to endorse in all the down ticket races and we are concerned that the DeWine/Husted move was designed to orchestrate a state party endorsement for them on Friday. Endorsing ANYONE two months before the filing deadline of February 7, 2018 is outrageous and unacceptable. We urge all Republican State Central Committee members to vote down any attempt to do so, as the only reason to endorse now is to try and stop anyone else from joining these races. Doing so will only prove what everything citizen hates about both parties is true and will encourage citizens to look for other alternatives in 2018.”